0271-2818-MTDC: Missoula Technology and Development Center: Shaping Solutions for the Forest Service, Page 3

Missoula Technology and Development Center: Shaping Solutions for the Forest Service

Born of Fire: Forest Service Technology and Development

During the late 1940s, Forest Service employees at the Aerial Fire Depot in Missoula, MT, began working on ways to use aircraft more effectively for fighting fires in remote areas.

A collage of an artist's concept of a gyro car and a photo of a man using an actual gyro car.
Gyroscopes kept this prototype cargo carrier upright, even when someone tried to pull
it over. The goal was to find a way to transport ore from backcountry mines
on trails rather than roads. The electronic controllers available during the 1960s did not
respond quickly enough when the carrier hit large rocks. Once the carrier was part
of the way over, the gyroscope threw it to the ground. The project was abandoned.
With modern electronics, these carriers would be more likely to succeed.

When regular aircraft patrols detected a forest fire, smokejumpers and cargo were dropped to the fire. The success of these techniques led to the establishment of the Missoula Aerial Equipment Development Center in 1953.

Center employees worked in a variety of locations in Missoula before offices were moved to Fort Missoula during the 1960s. Meanwhile, fire equipment was also being developed by a center in California. The centers soon were solving other nationally important natural resource problems for the Forest Service. In 1987 the names of both centers were changed from "Equipment Development Centers" to "Technology and Development Centers" in recognition of their expanded role.

Both centers were scheduled for new facilities during the 1960s. The Forest Service purchased land near the Missoula airport for the new facility in Missoula.

The San Dimas, CA, center moved into its new facility in 1965, but the Missoula facility was not funded. Plans for a new facility were redrafted several times during the past three decades, but funding for construction wasn't available until 2000.

Beginning in March 2002, the Missoula center began moving from seven buildings around Missoula to its new facility near the airport. The facility includes offices, a chemistry laboratory for analyzing fire retardants, a photo studio, a video editing studio, a textile fabrication shop, an electronics shop, a machine shop, and a large meeting room for training. The center enters the 21st century with all its employees under a single roof, better able to solve problems for the Forest Service.


Kevlar fabric in chain saw chaps protects users from injuries. The chaps were developed during the 1960s. Testing devices make sure that the chaps continue to work even as chain saws are improved.